Monthly Archives

February 2019

City of Port Coquitlam wants more trees!

By | Trees | No Comments

I openly admit to quickly scanning my weekly issues of Tri City News and moving on. But, in late January I noticed a great headline. “PoCo wants big boost in trees” , TriCityNews  (Thursday, January 24, 2019, section A9). More trees is like music to my ears.

The Port Coquitlam city council wants to plant 350 trees every year until 2060. This would increase the city’s tree canopy from 23.8% to 25% in 41 years.

But Councillor Laura Dupont doesn’t think the targets above are ambitious enough. She wants to see a 30% canopy cover by 2035. I love it. If I lived in Port Coquitlam I would vote for Laura Dupont and nominate her for some sort of community award.

Money

The problem with Dupont’s target is lack of money. Planting trees is expensive. To raise funds the city will collect $100 from homeowners who cut down trees on their properties. And illegal cutting will trigger larger fines.

Why more trees?

The article doesn’t mention why we need more trees. Perhaps it’s too obvious. So, why do we need more trees and a larger city canopy cover?

Trees provide numerous ecosystem services for free. A larger city canopy cover would cool down the city in summer which may be critical on a planet affected by Global Warming. Paved cities act as heat islands and green spaces provide cooling.

Last year there were reports from India about a big city suffering, I mean really suffering, through heat waves. Then somebody noticed the complete lack of green spaces. It’s a huge mistake to eliminate green spaces from cities.

Trees also remove air pollutants and they produce oxygen. And who doesn’t like free oxygen?

Trees also look great. Many tree species are beautiful and they provide food and habitat for animals.

Green spaces also make people happier and safer.

 

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Conclusion

The Port Coquitlam city council’s plan to plant more trees every year until 2060 is a brilliant idea. Trees provide numerous ecosystem services for free. I can’t wait to see what tree species they plant.

Aralia cordata: my plant ID nightmare

By | gardening, Species | No Comments

 



 

Picture landscape pro Vas in a meeting, standing with his boss in the garden liaison’s garden. She’s looking at one of her pots and mentions that she would like to get more of these plants on her site. Sure, what are they? She had no clue so the boss turned to me. Come on, Red Seal Journeyman star!

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And I had no clue what it was. There were green heart-shaped leaves in a pot. This is one of those nightmare scenarios because you’re trying to look super knowledgeable and your brain goes blank.

It got worse in the forest buffer zone when I couldn’t recall the native shrub Sambucus racemosa. Oh, well, you just have to laugh it off. I could only recall the beautiful S. nigra.

Sun King

 

Do you know this plant?

 

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I failed the patio quiz but now I know one more plant. No big deal. This is Aralia cordata Sun King (Japanese spikenard).

It’s evident that this garden liaison had done her homework. Aralia cordata is perfect for pots in partly shaded patios or entryways. This is exactly where this plant is. It’s in a pot just as you walk in through the gate onto her patio. Trees above provide lots of shade.

The leaves are bright gold colour in summer which brightens up this gate area nicely.

Flowers come in mid-spring are followed by black ornamental berries. Expect the foliage to die back to the ground in winter. Clean it up nicely and wait for spring to bring the Sun King back.

This potted Sun King is in a woodland, Japanese-style garden and near-by are ferns, sedges and Hydrangeas. The Sun King works well with woodland perennials and hostas, all of which like shade.

In the end we managed to find and install a few specimens of Aralia cordata Sun King on this site. I doubt I will forget this plant again.

Keep working on your plant ID skills.